Securing Healthcare: Navigating Threats and Challenges
The healthcare industry, with its vast troves of sensitive patient data and critical operational systems, has become a prime target for cyber attacks.
In this article, we delve into two critical aspects of cybersecurity within the healthcare domain: the loss of operational capacity and the leakage of sensitive patient information. These threats are often intertwined, exacerbating the risks faced by healthcare organizations.
Ransomware Strikes: A Paralyzing Threat
Imagine a scenario where a hospital’s entire network is held hostage by ransomware. Critical systems—such as electronic health records (EHRs), diagnostic equipment, and communication channels—are rendered inaccessible. Patient care grinds to a halt, surgeries are postponed, and emergency services are disrupted. The financial and human costs are immense.
Ransomware attacks have become increasingly sophisticated, targeting healthcare institutions worldwide. Attackers exploit vulnerabilities in software, social engineering, and weak access controls. Hospitals and clinics must grapple with the delicate balance of paying ransoms (which may not guarantee system restoration) or enduring prolonged downtime.
A Delicate Balancing Act
Healthcare organizations handle an array of sensitive data: patient records, medical histories, insurance details, and more. When this information falls into the wrong hands, the consequences are dire. Cybercriminals seek to exploit patient data for financial gain, identity theft, or even extortion.
The challenge lies in securing this data while ensuring seamless access for authorized personnel. Healthcare professionals—ranging from doctors and nurses to administrative staff—need timely access to patient records. Balancing security protocols with usability is a tightrope walk. Moreover, the interconnection of healthcare systems, including both IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology), adds complexity. Medical devices, IoT (Internet of Things) sensors, and legacy systems all contribute to the attack surface.
Navigating the Healthcare Cybersecurity Landscape
The healthcare sector’s unique characteristics—diverse organizations, varying sizes, and the convergence of IT and OT—demand tailored security strategies. Robust risk management, employee training, and continuous monitoring are essential. Collaboration across institutions, sharing threat intelligence, and adhering to international standards can bolster defenses.
As healthcare continues to digitize and innovate, safeguarding patient well-being and operational continuity remains paramount. By understanding vulnerabilities, anticipating threats, and investing in robust cybersecurity measures, the industry can mitigate risks and protect the vital services it provides.
Drawing on its in-depth knowledge of cybersecurity issues, Thales has identified three essential areas in terms of cybersecurity for the medical environment:
1. Adaptation of the security strategy to the health context:
Faced with the specific risks inherent to the healthcare sector, as well as the potentially devastating consequences, particularly on the lives of individuals, it is imperative that organizations operating in the healthcare field adjust their security strategy. This adaptation must take into consideration the particular aspects of this sector in order to identify priorities in terms of risk management. An approach based on risk assessment makes sense to explicitly highlight the consequences that would result from ignoring certain risks.
For example, the sensitive nature of the information processed for patients requires uninterrupted security at all levels, from A to Z. From the beginning of the process with the integration and the storage of the patient’s records to the end with a secure outsourced storage.
Due to the covid, the digitisation of the healthcare institution has accelerated, especially with virtual conversations and confidential files deposit. Accordingly, ensure the protection of all these interactions with a secure authentication system became mandatory to avoid hacking.
In addition, this approach must encompass all players in the organization's ecosystem, with a view to constantly evaluating and monitoring the level of security of the third parties involved.
This security strategy also applies for internal use especially with instant communication and secure video conferencing. The healthcare team can successfully realize their daily tasks through a smartphone, a laptop, a mobile or a tablet.
In many cases, the priority in the healthcare sector is to keep medical operations running smoothly, ensuring that we have the necessary staff to provide quality care. As a result, system security can sometimes take a back seat, with the idea that systems must first work before they are secure. However, this perspective has evolved over the years, particularly in light of serious cybersecurity incidents occurring in hospitals worldwide. However, there often remains a lack of resources, particularly within public institutions, to put in place robust security measures. Healthcare organizations often do the best they can with the limited budgets they have to address these complex challenges.
2. Cyber resilience to ensure business continuity:
Given the possible consequences of an interruption of information systems on daily activities, it is now essential to prepare for the worst and guarantee the resilience of operations, including with regard to cybersecurity issues. Guaranteeing this resilience requires taking full account of business continuity and the resumption of operations, considering all aspects of the organization, whether operational or technological. Therefore, it is imperative to integrate elements of complexity related to information technology (IT) and operational (OT) infrastructures to clarify dependencies and priorities with respect to critical activities. Managing cybersecurity crises, whether in terms of organizational structure, relationships with attacker groups, or communication with all stakeholders, requires careful preparation, ensuring that each responder is aware of their responsibilities in times of crisis and that the organization has the necessary logistical (rooms, equipment, secure data storage) and technological (emergency communication channel) resources. Nowadays, Public structures ensure the security of their patient’s data by encrypting from end-to-end and outsourcing them in an external environment. In case of intrusion, the data remains accessible for the internal users but are inaccessible for an external use, minimizing the risks of data leakage. Finally, the information system redundancy system must integrate appropriate backup mechanisms.
3. Ensure the foundations of security:
To ensure a sufficient level of protection, it is imperative to consider fundamental cybersecurity measures, especially for exposed components of the organization. This vigilance is essential to guard against the most common attack techniques. This starts with the need to gain full visibility into information systems assets, particularly those that support critical activities or are most exposed to risk. This increased visibility will enable the identification and implementation of appropriate protection measures, including system configuration and hardening rules, as well as the implementation of anti-malware solutions and regular procedures for identifying vulnerabilities. In addition, it is essential to have anomaly detection mechanisms in place to react promptly in the event of suspicious activity.
Cybersecurity fundamentals also encompass effective management of logical and physical access. Multi-factor authentication, adapted to the exposure and sensitivity of the resources being accessed, constitutes an essential measure. Particular attention should be paid to privileged accounts, reducing their number and exercising strict control over their use.
Finally, it is crucial to recognize that the human factor remains an essential component of security within any organization, including in the healthcare sector. Employees are on the front line to comply with information security rules and to maintain a high level of vigilance on a daily basis. Efforts to promote and implement a safety culture must be constant in order to adequately address risks linked to the human factor.
In many organizations, including those in the healthcare sector, it is common to see an approach where three padlocks are placed on a door, while a nearby window is left wide open. This analogy highlights the importance of addressing the foundations of security. Foundations, such as employee awareness, IT knowledge and access management, are often overlooked, even in healthcare. Yet they are crucial to establishing a solid foundation in cybersecurity.
Moreover, integrating a OT worlds require a need for proper network segregation and a clear separation between OT (Operational Technology) and IT (Information Technology), which can be achieved through the development of a standard model like the well-known Purdue model. This model facilitates the separation of networks into multiple layers and establishes security practices between each layer.
For Johann Alessandroni, Team Leader Information Security Governance at Thales, the three strategic axes presented in this article represent the main pillars for strengthening cybersecurity in the medical sector. These recommendations are the result of Thales’ in-depth expertise and understanding of the critical issues related to the management of sensitive patient data. By implementing these fundamental principles, healthcare organizations can strengthen their security posture, prevent cybersecurity incidents, and ensure the protection of data vital to individual health. Faced with constantly evolving threats, these pillars remain essential to ensure the security and continuity of medical operations in an increasingly digital and interconnected environment.
How we can support you?
Thales is a leading player in cybersecurity, thanks to an extensive network of specialized subsidiaries offering comprehensive expertise that covers all aspects of IT security. This global approach allows it to meet all cybersecurity challenges, whether they relate to strategy, governance or technical and operational aspects.
Thales operates in complex areas, whether in industrial or IT systems. The company has the expertise to implement appropriate levels of security, using proven or tailor-made solutions. It also offers a wide range of solutions and products that it deploys, maintains and monitors for its customers.
In the healthcare sector, Thales stands out for its ability to understand the security issues linked to the management of highly confidential data, such as patient medical information. Thales can not only identify the necessary security measures, but also implement them comprehensively, from design to implementation, with continuous monitoring. A critical element in the healthcare sector is managing the security of medical equipment such as scanners and MRIs. Thales offers in-depth expertise to meet these specific challenges, guaranteeing the safety of critical medical operations.